I wanted to cry...

Bgrigg

I like Scooby-Doo, but Scrappy-Doo needed to be run through a meat grinder!

it was meant as a joke, its 2011, how is communist even an insult any more?

Smeagol,

What flea market are you checking out.? I used to go to the Tacony flea market when I lived in Philly...is it still open? Used to go to the Pensauken Mart too...think that one closed for good. I keep hearing about a big flea market in Columbus, NJ but haven`t gotten there yet...have you?

Take it easy,

Len

Columbus is where I go, though Im hesitant to tell other modelers (keep the model horde all for myself!)  I havent gone to the others in ages though.

to Karl and Hans.  I dont know how much time you guys spend at the flea market (this is not a criticism) but the kits you find there if they are started you are going to really REALLY have to go over them with a fine tooth come to the point where it becomes an extension of building it (and a not fun part).

I would have had to make sure that not only every part was in there but that the person didn't glue anything together wrong, or didn't mess any parts up sanding/filing, or droped glue on it, didnt just pull a part off the sprue and tear the part as opposed to nipping it off and cleaning off the stub.

I don't think you'll ever mistake me for someone who doesn't watch every penny, young Padawan...

I haunt flea markets, garge sales, estate sales and everything in between on regular basis... One thing they all have in common is that NONE of the people there have any idea what anything is worth to ME..  If they're too high, and they won't come down, I'll walk away...  But none of the prices are carved in stone.. If a guy tells me, "It's priced at 10.00.."  Right then, it's time to do the dance and haggle the guy... Sometimes ya win, sometimes not, but usually, all they wanna do is get rid of it...

The other thing they all have in common is that the "Caveat Emptor" rule is in effect... "Buyer Beware" isn't just a cool Latin phrase... But when you know packages have been resealed, call 'em out on it... Tell them you KNOW it's been opened, and show 'em why you know... It's like, after I look through a kit, I can then say, "Look.. This's been opened, some of the parts are junk, and it ain't worth a ten-dollar bill.." I'll give ya 3.50.", and then it's "Let the games begin!"..   It's YOUR money... Make 'em work for it...

Don't take this the wrong way, it's not a dig, just an observation...But you have this... habit of telling me all the ways and reasons why you CAN'T get this or that, instead of figuring out how you CAN get it.....  Ever heard the old saying of "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're RIGHT.."?

It's like those "Time Machine Parts".. Doesn't matter if they're not kit parts, or if they aren't swappable car parts.. Bottom ine is that the whole assembly is just different shapes.. And all those shapes can be found in bags hanging on the Plastuct or Evergreen rack at the LHS... 

One last thing...If you don't have time to even inventory the kits, how the heck you gonna have time to BUILD them?

Hans first I took none of that as criticism I know exactly what you are talking about.  I have talked quite a few people down in prices on kits, but some people are just to extreme.  I love the people that charge more then retail for kits because they dont know what they have.

As far as time goes... if I was there by myself sure, but I was there with other people, they wouldn't wait and it would have ended up with me wandering by myself again, which isn't that fun.

All in all there was enough bad about what I saw when I opened the box to nix it, I have bought open kits before and gotten good deals and gotten screwed.   I have come to the point where my stash is big enough that passing on it wont end up with me not having a kit to build, so I have time to wait and find it again.

Also, by 'open' I dont mean the box is open I mean the parts are not in bags and pieces are nipped off the sprues and laying on the bottom of the box.  The latter also gives the issue of assembly with having parts not being numbered, at that points its like a jigsaw puzzle

As far as time goes... if I was there by myself sure, but I was there with other people, they wouldn't wait and it would have ended up with me wandering by myself again, which isn't that fun.

Well, ok... I prefer to "Lone Wolf" 'em m'self... Can't think with a buncha other people tellin' me to look at this, that, and the other...

Another haggling tip.. Don't be afraid to bundle some things, or to even flip a coin with 'em over a buck or two. Even those kits that're obviously "parts kits" are worth having around... You never know when an air-cleaner from a 57 Chevy is gonna be needed in a 1/48 ThunderStang for an oil tank.. Gizmology 101, Young Jedi...

Heh I get gizmology Hans, just most people that have parts kits... well they want like 20$ for a box full of spares.  The biggest problem is the majority of kits are OOOOLLLLDDDD plane kits, or nascar kits.  Armor, figures, scifi, and other odd things (that I like) are alot more rare.

As far as other people I know what you mean, but I go with my parents, we buy and sell stuff on ebay, my dad buys and sells old army men and whatnot and It's gotten to the point that I know what he wants and he knows what I want, so its like having an extra set of eyes. 

We once found a old Marx doll house on someone's table, guy asked 25 when my dad went up, he passed.  we came around I asked, the guy said 20, a few minutes later my mom asked he said 18.  We called my dad away from the table, he came around, and got it for $15  I guess the guy didn't want to hold onto it anymore.

I have bundled before, there was someone that had like 4 Tupperware bins FULL of car kits (non nascar)  I bought a bunch for myself and got a good deal, got some money off on then.  Then my parents came around and we bought almost twice as many as I bought for myself and soldem on ebay and got about twice our money, was a good day that one.